HONOLULU, Sep 3, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A&B Properties, Inc., the real estate development subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALEX), has broken ground on its 60,000 square-foot Kunia Shopping Center, a neighborhood retail center in Central Oahu. The property is located on Kunia Road, about a half-mile from the Kunia offramp on the H-2 Freeway, and is adjacent to the Village Park and Royal Kunia residential communities. A&B Properties CEO Stanley M. Kuriyama announced that commitments have been secured for 70% of the available space, and that a $8.5 million construction contract for the center, expected to be complete by early fall 2005, was awarded to Nordic Construction, Ltd.

"There was significant interest in the Center from a variety of retailers, restaurants and service providers -- both local and national companies," said A&B Properties Director of Development Rick Stack. "They saw the advantage of being close to both Wal-Mart and Times Supermarket, as well as locating in a brand new center that will serve the growing Village Park and Royal Kunia neighborhoods. The Center also is shaping up to be a popular location for medical, dental and vision professionals, close to their clientele."

Tenants include, in alphabetical order, Auntie Pasto's, Baskin Robbins, Bellagio Day Spa, CeCe Casuals, Dental Fitness, GameStop, Jamba Juice, Kiawe Grill, Manawa Lea Health and Services, Pearl's Korean BBQ, Quizno's, Royal Kunia Dental, Starbucks, Sumo Sushi, SuperCuts, Tammy Chang DDS.

In recent years A&B Properties has embarked on a strategy of expanding beyond its historical land holdings and has, in the past five years alone, invested in 21 Hawaii real estate projects outside of its core landholdings. These include various development projects on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, representing a total capital investment of over $400 million.

A&B's landholdings include a total of over 90,000 acres in Hawaii, making it the state's fourth largest private landowner, and an income property portfolio comprising over 5 million square feet of leasable space in 18 Mainland and 23 Hawaii office, industrial and retail properties.

A&B's major lines of business are ocean transportation (Matson Navigation Company, Inc.); property development and management (A&B Properties, Inc.); and food products (Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, Kauai Coffee Company). Additional information about A&B may be found at its web site: www.alexanderbaldwin.com.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statements include, without limitation, overall economic conditions and other risks associated generally with developments. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This release should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which identify important factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this release.

SOURCE: A&B Properties, Inc.

CONTACT:
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.
Meredith J. Ching, 808-525-6669
mching@abinc.com